Posts by: Neil Whalar

Neil is the co-founder and CEO of Whalar, the only Instagram, Facebook and Snap partner connecting brands to the global community of social media creators.
A University drop-out, Neil and co-founder, James Street launched their first business in 2006, an online travel publishing business powered by a community of local experts that spanned 120 locations and 40 different countries.
Several successful projects later, Shore Projects was born, a British coastline inspired watch brand. Identifying emerging consumer trends, the brand grew through the nurturing and growth of a social media community. Commercial success lead to winning Shopify’s Build A Business Competition and being the top $ sales of 15,000 other fashion and apparel businesses on Shopify. The prize, a week on Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson's private home.
On Necker the idea for Whalar was conceived. Now backed by Sir John Hegarty, Whalar is used by global brands to leverage a growing community of over 1,000 of the best social media creators from across the globe.
Neil has built a reputation as one of the most renowned thought leaders in the social space, championing creators with influence, creative freedom and social community as acquisition.

The world of influencer marketing, in recent times, is becoming an increasingly recognised marketing strategy, and brands are setting more budget aside solely for content creation and publishing by so-called ‘influencers’.

Still, to some, influencer marketing may feel like murky territory with unknown results. To help, Whalar have compiled this list of tips on choosing influencers so you can get the best results for your brand. Follow these 5 steps and Whalar say you are sure to see high quality content and engaged audience awareness, which can lead to brand loyalty, high web traffic and those all important sales.

Maybe one of the biggest mistakes brands make is jumping on the influencer bandwagon because they hear it’s trendy. This often results in lazy content and frustration at lack of results. You need to understand that influencer marketing is important for long term results and brand loyalty. Influencer marketing is all about organic growth – not having an advert shoved down your throat – when understood properly, influencer marketing is subtle, welcoming, creative and thought-provoking.

2. Look at the different categories of influencers, and choose a mix for fresh and varied content:

Nowadays, there are macro and micro influencers, and even ‘real world’ celebrities who can create content for you. And then, within these subsects, there are bloggers, vloggers, Instagrammers, Snapchatters, and each and every one has their own specific niche; be it travel photography, or even something as specific as drone imagery; the world of influencer marketing is endless. The most effective content is created by choosing a relevant section of influencers to match your brief (for example, if you are a hotelier, you must choose the influencers who would be likely to stay in hotels), and then spread them across a relevant location (if your hotel is in ten countries, pick influencers from each). Plus, through sourcing a spectrum of talent, the material stays fresh and varied.

A key thing you have to remember when choosing talent is that influencers are consumers too, so you should pick someone who would be a consumer for your brand, and take into consideration that consumers only engage with strategically relevant content.

3. Choose an influencer with an aesthetic that suits your brand:

If you’re creating a full influencer campaign, you’re going to use multiple content creators. And whilst it’s important that they all put their own unique spin on the brief (you might, for example, have one pro at cinemagraphs, one at stopmotion, and one influencer known for their work with neon; the content will therefore differ), it’s equally important there is a similar aesthetic running through every piece of content to create a cohesive campaign. You might choose influencers with similar styles, colour schemes or tastes demonstrated on their social media feeds.

4. Go for quality of audience over ultra high follower numbers:

Yes, we know that numbers count, but the problem brands face when dipping their toe into influencer marketing is an obsession with numbers. Up until recently, it’s been all about how many followers someone has and how many likes they get. The relevancy, the context and the quality of the work has often taken a complete backseat. Worse still, often no consideration has been given to the relationship between the influencer, their audience and the brand. The quality of the content is so important, and something Whalar focuses on.

5. Set your objectives clearly:

The success or failure of any collaboration will often come down to the communication between the two parties. Each party must understand clearly what the objectives are, their role in the collaboration, and have confidence that they can achieve their goals in doing so. Before choosing an influencer, you must identify the Why, What and Who of your campaign motives.

Why – Why are you doing this? What’s the core motivation? What is the desired outcome?

What – What content do you want? What type of creative? What aesthetics? What’s your message?

Who – Who are you trying to reach? Who is your consumer? Who’s perception are you trying to change?

If your influencer agrees with, and is on board, with all of the above, there should be no miscommunication, the process will run smoothly, and will result in a successful collaboration for both parties.

Whalar’s motto is ‘Liberating the Creative Voice’, arguably the most important part of any influencer marketing strategy. But for a collaboration to be successful, the main things you need to remember are to always choose influencers whose audience would be consumers of your product, focus on the quality of content, and to maintain communication throughout. Additionally, your brief can be prescriptive, but always let your influencers’ talent shine through, remember it’s why you chose them in the first place!

If discovering where the next generation of luxury travellers will find their travel inspiration is your thing, you might like to check out ILTM Bright Young Things Report